Canadian country artist Aaron Pritchett is bringing his “Out on the Town” tour to the Battlefords later this month.
Pritchett is the headliner on Sept. 29 at the Gold Eagle Casino in North Battleford. The tour is named for Pritchett’s eighth studio album, “Out on the Town.”
The tour is a nationwide one at venues all over Canada. The North Battleford stop is part of the second stage of the tour – his first leg was earlier this year in January from Victoria to Nova Scotia. This latest stage heads from the east back west.
“We had one (tour) already and that was 35 shows in 40-odd days, and hopefully we are up for 24 shows in 29 days,” Pritchett said, speaking by phone to the News-Optimist from Ottawa.
There, he was playing at the Overflow Brewing Company that night. Pritchett’s tour also had shows scheduled in Pembroke and North Bay before heading into Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and finally Alberta.
Pritchett has been through Saskatchewan before and says he loves the Battlefords. The area’s “got great country music fans,” he said.
For the local country fans, Pritchett promises what he describes as a high energy show.
“From the get-go it starts off with a bang and ends off with a bigger bang, and lots of craziness in between,” Pritchett said. “It’s a non-stop energy, high energy show from start to finish.”
Part of the show will be Kira Isabella, who has “got great music and is a phenomenal singer.” David James is also featured in the show.
When asked whether he is one of those artists who prefers the recording studio or prefers being out on tour, Pritchett indicated his preference for the latter.
“You get the live reaction from the crowds and you get to see how they’re feeling that night,” said Pritchett.
“It’s just as fun to do either of them, but I get more of a rush sometimes out of playing live.”
As for what to expect at the Gold Eagle Casino in terms of music, Pritchett is promising tunes going back to his hits in 2002 all the way to his latest single he released this month, Good Thing.
Also included will be the song Pritchett said, “everyone seems to want to hear:” Hold my Beer.
In all, Pritchett has had 14 career top ten singles in a long career as a writer and performer. Pritchett says he’s been doing country music since the early Nineties, but it was only this year in April when he finally achieved a Number One hit on the Canadian charts – Better When I Do.
“It’s pretty amazing, I’ve had lots of singles get pretty high up the charts but nothing hit Number One until this year,” said Pritchett. “It feels like I won the Stanley Cup.”
In terms of his musical influences, Pritchett points to artists from both the country and pop/rock genres.
He said Elvis Presley was one of his first influences, pointing to his “charisma.” He also pointed to other influences such as Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen, and on the country side, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt.
Pritchett also likes to keep up with the country music that is happening out there today, “You have to keep up with trends to some degree but also keep that brand of your own.”
As for the style of music people can expect at his North Battleford, Pritchett said he’s "kind of known as the guy with the rock element to his country show, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
